Emily Dana is an award-winning violist based in New York. She began her musical instruction through the North Shore Suzuki School in Setauket, New York as a violinist. After eleven years of playing violin, she became enticed by the dark, warm sound of the viola, and furthered her musical studies in viola. In high school, Emily auditioned for the Stony Brook University Orchestra, where she served as assistant principal violist. She has had the honor of working with many wonderful teachers, including Nathan Schram, Daniel Phillips, Edward Klorman, and Nurit Pacht. Emily studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College as a Macaulay Honors Scholar. She will graduate in the Fall of 2017 with a Bachelors of Music in Viola Performance, with an advanced certificate in Music Education. She will also be a certified New York State k-12 music teacher as of Spring 2018.
Emily has had the opportunity of playing throughout North America and Europe. Highlights of her performance career include performing as assistant principal violist of the Scotia Festival Orchestra, performing solo with the Queens College Chamber Orchestra, and working one-on-one with various violists of the Berlin Philharmonic. She has played in master-classes of world-renowned musicians, including Kim Kashkashian.
Emily also enjoys playing in ensembles featuring period performance practice. She recently performed in the orchestra for the opera Giasone by Cavalli as part of the Queens Baroque Opera Workshop. She is also a longtime member of the Queens Baroque Ensemble directed by Dongmyung Ahn, where she plays both violin and viola.
Giving back to the community is a very important goal for Emily. She regularly volunteers music at St. James Church near her hometown of Stony Brook, NY. She is also the co-founder of the Community Musicians Collective of Queens: a group that works in association with the not-for-profit organization “Music For Food.” The Community Musicians Collective has raised thousands of dollars for local food pantries in the Queens County area through orchestral concerts.
The main concern for parents should be to bring up their children as noble human beings. That is sufficient. If this is not their greatest hope, in the end the child may take a road contrary to their expectations. Children can play very well. We must try to make them splendid in mind and heart also.
Suzuki based his approach on the belief that “Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed. Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability, just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited.”